Archive for month: August, 2016

Uber Poaches Target CMO Jeff Jones by Adam Lashinsky & Phil Wahba at Fortune. “Jones starts Sept. 19 at Uber, where he will head worldwide marketing and operations. He replaces board member and early employee Ryan Graves in those roles, though Graves remains in a senior capacity at Uber.” Read more

…Jones met (Founder Travis) Kalanick at the TED 2016 conference in Vancouver, where the pair started talking about how Uber could improve its reputation by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. Read more

2,000 Cram into Nebraska Furniture Mart to meet ‘Fixer Upper’ stars Chip and Joanna Gaines by Maria Halkias at Dallas Morning News. “The couple seemed surprised by the rockstar response and standing room only audience who came to witness the couple’s personalities up close and find out what’s next. The next big thing is a restaurant…And someone in the audience shouted out a suggested name: “Fixer Supper”.” Read more

Gap employees miraculously escape fire at distribution center by Yaron Steinbuch at NY Post. “We were just hoping no one was hurt. No one could survive that if they were still inside,” Torrisi told the paper. “It looks like the whole roof is gone.” “We just saw this bright orange glow,” Fox said.” Read more

Sears to Start Selling Paint Again “…bringing trusted brands including Craftsman, Weatherbeater and Easy Living…Sears will be reintroducing paint in 23 stores across the country before rolling the offering out to all of its retail locations.” Press release

Petco invests in tech startup by Mike Freeman at San Diego Union Tribune. “Petnet, a maker of personalized feeding technology for dogs and cats, has raised $10 million in an initial round of venture capital led by San Diego’s Petco.” Read more

Alimentation Couche-Tard first-quarter profit rises 9% by Damon Van Der Linde at Financial Post. “The result in the first quarter of fiscal 2017 was mixed: revenues took a hit due in part to lower fuel prices, while U.S. fuel retail margins were largely responsible for the company’s higher-than-expected earnings per share.” Read more

Toys R Us Canada promotes Chief Merchant to President by Matt Linder at Internet Retailer. “Melanie Teed-Murch…has been with the retail chain for 20 years. In her new role she will be responsible for the retail chain’s online arm and Canadian stores.” Read more

**A message from 2016 Sweets & Snacks Expo – The Most Innovative New Products winners have been announced! Winners were awarded in nine categories: chocolate, non-chocolate, sweet, salty, savory, novelty, seasonal, gourmet/premium and gum/mints. See the winners here. The 2017 Sweets & Snacks Expo is nearly 90% sold out and will take place May 23-25 at Chicago’s McCormick Place – Notify me when registration opens

Wealthy consumers don’t like to pick up online orders in stores by Stefany Zaroban at Internet Retailer. “Of consumers across all income demographics, 57% said they had picked up an online order in a store in the last year. However, of those with household income above $200,000 per year, that number drops to only 36%.” Read more

Bloomberg: Will Amazon Kill FedEx? by Devin Leonard. Read more

Abercrombie Closing up to 60 Stores After Posting Wider Loss by Anne D’Innocenzio & Joseph Pisani at AP via ABC. “The retailer is changing its marketing to play down its sexy image, and last year got rid of provocative pictures on its shopping bags and bare-chested male models greeting customers at the door.” Read more

DSW Q2 Comp Sales -1.2% “…compared to last year’s increase of 1.8%.” Press release

Lowe’s Introduces LoweBot in the Bay area “This fall, Lowe’s will introduce LoweBot, a NAVii™ autonomous retail service robot by Fellow Robots, in 11 Lowe’s stores throughout the San Francisco Bay area. Following a successful robotics test of OSHbot at one of the company’s Orchard Supply Hardware stores.” Press release

Fred’s Q2 Comp Sales -2.0% Press release

Amazon to launch retail pickup location at UW-Madison this fall by Melanie Lawder at Milwaukee Business Journal. Read more

Cargill, General Mills, Wal-Mart collaborating to improve farm soil, water quality by Tom Meersman at Star Tribune. “The idea evolved from a meeting of CEOs that Wal-Mart held two years ago at its Arkansas headquarters. The topic: how the companies could help support agriculture in the Midwest…” Read more

Shopping Malls’ New Product: Fun by Esther Fung at Wall Street Journal. “Food and entertainment currently account for 22.1% of the space leased in malls, compared with 19.2% in 2012, according to data from CoStar Group Inc. This year, Pyramid has 49 entertainment tenants which account for 9.6% of leasable area in its portfolio, up from 16 tenants and 4.3% of its portfolio in 2010.” Read more (subscription)

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Most popular retailers for back-to-school among influencers: Walmart #1, Target #2, Staples #3, Amazon #4

The 10 Retailers With the Most E-Commerce Distribution Centers

Google is taking dozens of Nest engineers to work on the smart home

Generation Z Will Out-Earn and Outwork the Rest of Us

N.J. Governor Christie Vetoes Minimum Wage Hike to $15/Hr

Fortune: Women Bring More Tech Expertise to the Boardroom Than Men Do

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J.D. Power 2016 U.S. Pharmacy Rankings Mass Merchandiser: Sam’s #1, Costco #2, Target #3 See rankings for Supermarkets and Drug stores

Costco shifts again on sourcing olive oil by Janet I. Tu at Seattle Times. “The Greek oil did OK — I myself preferred it in a blind tasting — but it was not quite as strong a seller,” Olive Oil Times quotes Chad Sokol, commodity and dry grocery buyer for Costco’s Northern California and Nevada stores, as saying. “And pulling our buy out of Italy was significant. Their pricing came down as a reaction…” Read more

Start-ups in Target’s Techstars accelerator race to finish line by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. “These final weeks will be “hopefully controlled chaos,” said Ryan Broshar, managing director of the Target + Techstars program. The companies will be furiously fundraising, signing up clients and hashing out final details of their plans. “It will be super intense.” Read more

Trader Joe’s lawsuit over Canadian store Pirate Joe’s can proceed via LA Times. “The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a district court’s decision to dismiss California-based Trader Joe’s federal trademark claims.” Read more

Obama Finds an Ally in Wal-Mart, Whose Stores He Once Shunned by Toluse Olorunnipa & Shannon Pettypiece at Bloomberg. “As a freshman senator with his eye on the presidency, Barack Obama said he’d never shop at a Wal-Mart…Today, Wal-Mart is one of Obama’s most reliable corporate allies, a go-to partner that’s backed the White House on more than a dozen business initiatives, particularly Obamacare and climate change…” Read more

Washington Post: Why are sales suffering at so many women’s stores? They made bad clothes. by Sarah Halzack. “…They’re now trumpeting their turnaround plans, vowing to once again nail their fits, fabrics and styles. And some say those efforts are beginning to work. But if you’re a woman who suddenly finds that the mall resembles a wardrobe wilderness, accept this consolation: It’s not you. It’s them.” Read more

**A message from Fabe – Pillows hand-crafted in Italy prevent and relieve neck and back pain. Fabe’s Ergo Praxis pillow supports and aligns the head and neck to prevent cervical pain. Created in cooperation with Ludes University in Switzerland – it gets the body in the right position for a good night’s sleep. 100% Made in Italy. Ergo Praxis Specs | Fabe Website | Retailers request samples at info@shiftmarketinggroup.net. Italy-America Product Connection

Listeria Sparks Recall of Pre-Cut Vegetables at Walmart and Publix by Michael Addady at Fortune. “Another Listeria recall is underway, this time in connection to pre-cut vegetables distributed by Texas company Country Fresh LLC. Listeria was discovered during a routine sample test at a retailer by the Georgia Department of Agriculture.” Read more

Wayfair Names Doran Robinson Vice President of Operations Product Innovation Team Press release

More Patti LaBelle desserts coming to Walmart by Aaron Smith at CNN Money. “LaBelle fans may want to brace themselves for a bit of sticker shock, though. While the sweet potato pie costs $3.98, the cobblers are $6.98, the apple pecan cake costs $9.98.” Read more

Top 10 Apparel E-Retailers in the World (Macy’s #3, Nordstrom #6) at Internet Retailer. See the list

Amazon Tests 30-Hour Work Week by David Z. Morris at Fortune. “The stated goal of the program is “to create a work environment that is tailored to a reduced schedule and still fosters success and career growth.” Read more

The Frozen Concentrated Orange-Juice Market Has Virtually Disappeared by Julie Wernau at Wall Street Journal. “The number of futures contracts held by traders has dropped by more than two-thirds from a 1997 high of 48,921, to 15,410 contracts last week. There were 71 players in the futures market as of last week, compared with 168 in 2004.” Read more (subscription)

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Outraged moms say Aldi’s new ‘sensitive’ baby wipes have brought their children out in rashes

Can Amazon reviews keep you from getting sick? Researchers try to predict food recalls

FitBit shows off sequels to the Charge and Flex, updates Blaze and Alta software

Big Tobacco Wants to Turn Japan’s Smokers Into Vapers

For Sale: Hand Signed Business Card Of Craig Jelinek

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Dollar General Q2 Comp Sales +0.7% “Todd Vasos, Dollar General’s CEO: “Retail food deflation and a reduction in both SNAP participation rates and benefit levels, coupled with unseasonably mild spring weather, proved to be stronger than expected headwinds to our business.” Press release

Dollar Tree Q2 Comp Sales +1.2% “Bob Sasser, Chief Executive Officer: “Through what continues to be a challenging retail sales environment, we delivered gross margin improvement and managed expenses effectively to deliver earnings at the top end of our guidance range.” Press release

Dollar Tree & Dollar General sales miss estimates via CNBC. “Wal-Mart Stores’ move to double down on competition by reducing prices on key items such as food was also expected to hurt sales at Dollar General and rival Dollar Tree Inc in the quarter.” Read more

Target CFO gives Best Buy props on a good quarter by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. “We’re sitting here saying, ‘Gosh, our electronics assortment is not where it needs to be. We’re not seeing the innovation in the categories.'” (CFO Cathy Smith) said. “And then Best Buy — I’ll give this one to them. They had a good quarter…We still have some work to do.” Read more

Sports Authority customers can opt out of Dick’s Sporting Goods getting their personal info by Monica Mendoza at Denver Business Journal. “Customers would have to do so by Sept. 15, before the data is transferred.” Read more

Australia: Woolworths Salvages $380 Million in Home Improvement Exit by Angus Whitley at Bloomberg. “The owner of the Mitre 10 hardware chain in Australia, agreed to buy Woolworths’ Home Timber & Hardware Group for A$165 million…a consortium including Aurrum Group, Spotlight Group and Chemist Warehouse proposes to buy 82 Masters properties and development sites and turn them into large-scale retail centers.” Read more

**A message from Fabe – Pillows hand-crafted in Italy prevent and relieve neck and back pain. Fabe’s Ergo Praxis pillow supports and aligns the head and neck to prevent cervical pain. Created in cooperation with Ludes University in Switzerland – it gets the body in the right position for a good night’s sleep. 100% Made in Italy. Ergo Praxis Specs | Fabe Website | How our Pillows are Made | Retailers request samples at info@shiftmarketinggroup.net. Italy-America New Product Connection

Best Buy bets on VR for the holidays with 500 stores demoing Oculus Rift by Darrell Etherington at TechCrunch. “Lest you think Best Buy is leaning entirely on Oculus to wow consumers with virtual goodies, the retailer is also going to be running demos of PlayStation VR in 200 locations, on a rotating basis among a number of stores. Sony’s PlayStation-based offering doesn’t come out until October.” Read more

Puerto Rico cannot enforce a Wal-Mart tax: U.S. appeals court at Reuters. “The 2015 tax legislation had raised to 6.5 percent from 2.0 percent the tax for on-island companies with more than $2.75 billion in revenues that buy goods from off-island “related parties.” Wal-Mart argued it was the only company that fit that description.” Read more

Williams-Sonoma Q2 Comp Brand Revenue +0.6% “Laura Alber, President and Chief Executive Officer: …the overall retail environment has softened and we are being impacted by a more cautious consumer. As a result, we have revised our outlook for the remainder of the year to reflect this change in trend.” Press release

Survey: Dick’s Sporting Goods had two of the top 10 ‘breakthrough ads’ during Olympics Press release / Top 10 ads

Houston: Local division president wraps up 44-year Kroger career by Mike D. Smith at Houston Chronicle. “If anyone needed to find Bill Breetz, chances were the personable but unassuming 6-foot-5-inch executive was walking the aisles of an area Kroger store in business attire with a Starbucks cup in hand, greeting and chatting up clerks, florists, checkers and shoppers…” Read more

Sears Canada announces rebranding – unveils new “clean and contemporary logo” by Sean Craig at Financial Post. “The new look, which evenly spaces the five obvious letters, S-E-A-R-S, before a punctuating red stencil of a maple leaf is, at first glance, perhaps a bit nondescript.” See the logo / Read more

Sears Q2 Comp Sales -5.2% via Fox Business. “Sears also said on Thursday it received interest for Sears Home Services business and the unit that houses the Kenmore appliance, Craftsman tools and DieHard vehicle battery brands from potential partners including retailers.” Read more

Tiffany Q2 Comp Sales -8.0% via Reuters. “Analysts on average were expecting a decline of 6.90 percent, according to research firm Consensus Metrix.” Read more

Wal-Mart’s South Africa Unit Profit Rises as Food Sales Grow by Liezell Hill at Bloomberg. “Massmart… said first-half profit rose 19 percent as increased food and liquor sales offset slower growth in its general merchandise and home-improvement businesses.” Read more

Michael’s Q2 Comp Sales +0.7% “CEO Chuck Rubin: “Although sales growth in the first half of fiscal 2016 was more challenging than we anticipated, we believe that we continue to gain market share.” Press release | New CFO named

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Is a Granola Bar “Natural” If There’s a Pesticide in It?

Walton Trust Sells $256 Million of Wal-Mart Shares After Rebound

Denver: Safeway, Albertsons launch delivery service, online ordering

J.C. Penney adds major appliance showrooms in Minnesota

China’s Zika Rules Raise Fears for U.S. Exporters (WSJ subs.)

Amazon Launched This Program for Donating Kindles and Tablets

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TV STATION FINDS NATIONWIDE PRICING GLITCH AT TARGET – Baby aisle more expensive than Pharmacy by Jessica McMaster at 41 KSHB Kansas City. “The 41 Action News Investigators called Target’s corporate offices to find out why the store was charging two different prices for the same item.  Kristy Welker, a spokeswoman for Target, said it was the first time she heard of the issue…After several hours, she contacted the 41 Action News Investigators, saying a glitch was found in Target’s pricing system.” See the video / Read more

Best Buy Q2 Comp Sales +0.8% “This is on top of comparable sales growth of 3.8% last year. We saw continued positive momentum in our online sales – delivering a second straight quarter of nearly 24% growth.” Press release

…Fox Business: Best Buy Surprise Sends Shares Soaring “Total revenue slightly rose to $8.53 billion in the second quarter ended July 30, snapping a three-quarter streak of declines.” Read more

Citigroup Stumbles Anew With Errant E-Mails to Costco Customers by Jennifer Surane at Bloomberg. “Citigroup Inc. mistakenly sent e-mails to some active Costco Wholesale Corp. members telling them their wholesale club membership had lapsed and that their cards would be canceled, bringing a fresh headache to the new partnership.” Read more

Target CIO: Prioritizing Stores, Digital, Supply Chain and Hiring Engineers at A Bullseye View. “About 70% of our engineering staff was third-party contractors vs. 30% Target team members. We had far more contractors than we needed…In just a year’s time, we’ve completely flipped that ratio—so that now about 70% of our engineering staff is team members while 30% is made up of contractors. And going forward I’d like to see that ratio get up to 80:20.” Read more

**A message from Black Flag® – We take no prisoners. In the battle against indoor and outdoor pests, it’s every man for himself. Arm yourself with Black Flag insect and rodent controls. Our tough, no-nonsense formulas are packed with a powerful punch to make short work of home insect invaders. Whether you’re battling crawling, flying or stinging insects or fending off mice, when the flag flies, pests die. Let it Fly. See our new ‘Sarge’ videos | Facebook page

Wal-Mart Reviews Welspun Records After Target Pulls Sheets by K Oanh Ha & Rajhkumar K Shaaw at Bloomberg. “(Walmart) plans to hold further discussions with Welspun and “handle it appropriately” if any issues are discovered, according to spokeswoman Marilee McInnis. Wal-Mart is Welspun’s third-largest customer, behind Target.” Read more

Hollywood Target, still dormant, remains at the center of furious legal fight by David Zahniser at LA Times. “For a fleeting moment, it looked as if the long-stalled, partly built Target shopping center in Hollywood might finally be in the clear…The city’s lawyers now say that, in the wake of a new ruling Target will need to obtain permission from a Superior Court judge  to resume construction. Read more

Cramer: We’ve got retail all wrong — time to bury the ‘death of the mall’ story at CNBC. “Amazon’s $50 billion in domestic sales in the past year was an indicator to Cramer that there is market share for everyone, as the U.S. had $4.71 trillion in retail sales during the same time period. Brick-and-mortars, which once seemed like zombies, once again have a pulse.” Read more/See the video

Best Buy opens connected home display in Mall of America by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. “The project is reminiscent of the experimental store called “Open House” that Minneapolis-based Target Corp. opened in July 2015 in San Francisco.” Read more

Warby Parker’s First Standalone Austin Store to Open Aug. 27th by Will Anderson at Austin Business Journal. “Warby Parker also plans to open a second Austin location this fall at Domain Northside, part of Endeavor Real Estate Group’s new addition to the North Austin master-planned development.” Read more

Couche-Tard is now the largest fuel retailer on continent by Geoffrey Morgan at Financial Post. Read more

Loblaw makes $170-million cash bid for B.C. medical records company QHR Corp. by Sean Craig at Financial Post. “The country’s largest food retailer offered $3.10 cash per share of Kelowna’s QHR Corp. — or 22 per cent over the stock’s price on the TSX Venture Exchange at Friday’s close — saying it will be a “natural complement” to its Shoppers Drug Mart division.” Read more

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Why it makes sense for supermarkets to refuse WIC checks

Online retailers give the boring brown box on your doorstep an extreme makeover

Judge orders $15 minimum wage vote in Minneapolis

Ramen noodles: The unexpected gold standard in prison currency

Here’s another sign that Virginia will be a combat zone for Publix

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